Caregiving Guides & Resources
Page Last Updated: February 4, 2021
Supports for Individuals and Families
General Resources
- “The Waiting Room Revolution” – a podcast for caregivers about how to be hopeful and prepared when facing serious illness
- Advance Care Planning Telephone Based Program – HPCO
- How to Prevent and Support Delirium in an Older Adult in Hospital or a Care Home, When You Can’t Visit in Person – RGP
- Caregiver Education & Resource Modules – HPCO
- Short videos teach family caregivers hands-on care skills – Caregiver Exchange Organization
- RNAO LTC Support Group: Connecting Families and Facebook Group
- WW Caregiver Connections Facebook Group
- Printable Symptom Diary – Canadian Virtual Hospice
COVID-19 Resources
- COVID-19 Infection Prevention & Control (IPAC) Fundamentals Training – for clinical staff, non-clinical staff, families/caregivers and inspectors) – PHO
- Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) Core Competencies Online Learning – for health care providers – PHO
- Advance Care Planning/Substititute Decision Maker/Health Care Consent – Speak Up Ontario
- COVID 19 Caregiving Tips and Resources – Ontario Caregiver Organization
- Here4Help Seniors-Caregivers – CMHA
- Thinking About Removing Your Older Loved One from Long Term Care During COVID19? – CanAge
- Other COVID-19 Resources
Grief Resources
- WWIHPC Regional Grief & Loss/Bereavement Supports
- Center for Loss & Life Transition
- Grief, Dying, and Death During a Pandemic
- My Grief.ca
- Wellness Together Canada
Caregiving Guides and Pamphlets
Advance Care Planning, Waterloo Wellington Learn more>
When Someone is Dying: What Can I Expect? What Can I do?
For single copies, download the .pdf and print; For multiple copies, please contact your HPC Consultant or email hpcinfo@hospicewaterloo.ca.
In the Community
Many patients prefer to die at home if the family
In Long-Term Care
This guide contains helpful
In Hospital

When Someone Dies – Some Next Steps for Family and Friends
The death of a relative or friend is one of the most stressful things that happens in life. If death is sudden or unexpected, the feeling of shock can seem overwhelming. Even when death is expected, it is still difficult to be prepared. While this booklet cannot anticipate every situation, we hope that it will answer some of your questions and help you make necessary arrangements. When Someone Dies – Download
Caregiver’s Guide: A Handbook About End-Of-Life Care
Written especially for family caregivers, this guide, plainly and in language easily understood, presents the medical and nursing information needed to help family caregivers understand the difficulties their loved ones are facing. This informative tool aids family caregivers in becoming valuable members of the palliative care team while, at the same time, providing support physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Caregiver’s Guide – Download
Resuscitation – A Decision-Making Guide for Patients, Families, and Caregivers
This pamphlet provides you with information to answer important questions that you as a patient, family member or caregiver may have about the term “resuscitation”. Resuscitation is the word used to describe the actions that are taken to attempt to bring a person back to life when he/she has stopped breathing or his/her heart has stopped beating. Download
Pain Intensity Scale Translations (21 Languages)
There is a new booklet available throughout Waterloo Region, Wellington-Dufferin to assist health care providers looking after patients who do not speak English. Translated into 21 languages, the pain scale assessment asks six questions of the patient on a scale of 0 to 10 about their pain. The English is on the back of each of the pages. The pages should be photocopied for ongoing use with a patient to evaluate effectiveness of treatment. Download
Caring Across Cultures – Multicultural Considerations in Palliative Care
Caring Across Cultures is intended to be a useful resource for caregivers working within a cultural mosaic. It is not…a scientific or academically objective document. Rather it has evolved from a grassroots investigation that has been primarily informed by interviews with community leaders and experts in palliative care. Order Form
Comfort Care – A Guide for Caregivers
This guide is intended for caregivers of a person with Alzheimer’s Disease or by another type of degenerative disease of the brain, such as Parkinson’s Disease, the effects of multiple strokes or even certain forms of Multiple Sclerosis. Download
Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS-r)
- Administrative Manual
- ESAS-r Tool
- ESAS-r Graph
- ESAS-r Tool Translations Page – 18 Languages in alphabetical order by language. If you are caring for a person and/or family who speaks another language, then this tool will assist you in assessing their physical and psychological needs.